Municipality of Viterbo
Lat. 42.73935 Long. 11.86333
Via Ascenzi, 1
01100 Viterbo (VT) Italy
Tel. ++39 07617951 – 07613481
(406,31 square km with 60600 inhabitants: Viterbesi)
Viterbo, capital of province, with about 60.600 inhabitants, is located at the foot of the Colli Cimini, at 335 metres above sea-level, at 81 km from Rome, 141 from Siena, 42 from Orvieto, 18 from the lake of Bolsena, 10 from the lake of Vico and 45 km from the Tyrrhenian sea. It celebrates the Patron St. Lawrence on the 10th December and the Patron St. Rosa on the 3rd September.
The devotion to St. Rosa, for the numerous miracles performed as she was a young girl and her determinant taking part in the fights to free Viterbo from the oppressors, made her a sweet and venerated figure, always present in the life of the inhabitants of Viterbo and famous all over the world for the extraordinary festivities held in September and especially on the 3rd September. The saint was born in 1233 and died in 1251. Viterbo has Etruscan origins proved by numerous documents. It was conquered by the Romans in the 11th century B.C. and the remains of the buildings near the thermae and near the locality called “Il Bagnaccio”, testify the stable Roman presence in the territory. It was invaded by the Goths and the Byzantines and was subdued by the Longobards in the 8th century A.C. Under the Papal State, Viterbo got ber and ber and reached the greatest splendour and prestige when Colle del Duomo became the papal see ( 1257-1281), in the place where the famous Papal Palace with wonderful shapes, rises today. At the end of the 13th century Rome became ,once for all, the papal see and Viterbo began a long decline, till the union of the kingdom of Italy in 1870. Later in 1922 it became capital of province.
Next to the numerous hotels if it possible to find many farm holidays and bed & breakfast; restaurants, always at very high level, offer meals of every kind, mainly based on traditional recipes and old, genuine, sound and delicious cooking. Wonderful embattled enclosing walls, very well kept, with entrances some of which bare and some completed with wooden doors, are the frame of the historical centre. Besides the numerous building of architectural and historical value, Viterbo stands out for its squares, embellished with precious peperino stone fountains, numerous churches rich in objects and first of all, the wonderful mediaeval quarter of San Pellegrino. The numerous archaeological sites dating back to the Etruscan and Roman periods, located in the suburbs of the town or a few km and the magnificence spread during the Middle Ages by the Farnese , make requirement for a charming deepening of the history of the places. Viterbo is also a thermal town. The ruins dating back to the Roman age testify the origin of thermal treatments, the ideal thing for health and beauty problems. It was known and appreciated also by Dante Alighieri who described it in his Divine comedy as follows:
“Quale del Bullicame esce ruscello che parton poi tra le lor peccatrici tal per la rena giù sen giua quello . Lo sfondo suo ed ambo le pendici fattò eran pietra, è margin di lato” Hell “XIV Canto”.
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